Steam and air garment finisher



Nov. 4, 1969 DE NEAL J. FELDMAN ET AL 3,475,828

STEAM AND AIR GARMENT FINISHER I Original Filed Oct. 7, 1966 I 2Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY$ Nov. 4, 1969 DE NEAL J. FELDMAN ET AL 3,475,828

STEAM AND AIR GARMENT FINISHER Original Filed Oct. 7, 1966 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.6

United States Patent Int. Cl. 1326b 3/04 US. Cl. 34-22 11 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A process and apparatus for drying andfinishing a washed fabric article having at least 65% polyester fiberswherein steam and hot air are blown into a freely suspended article andthen hot air alone is blown therein so as to return the article to astate where ironing is not required.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 585,135,filed Oct. 7, 1966, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to the drying and finishing of fabricarticles treated in a liquid, and more particularly to the wrinkle-freedrying of articles made from a fabric including some man-made fiberswhich when wet during the washing of the fabric causes the fabric totend to wrinkle.

Many types of garments are made of a fabric comprised of a yarn made upat least in part of man-made fibers which are thermoplastic in nature.One example of such is a cloth composed of 65% polyester (such as soldunder the trademark Dacron of Du Pont) and 35% cotton. Such is sometimesreferred to as a memory type of fabric. The garments of interest mayinclude coats and jackets worn by waiters and barbers and also uniformsworn by hairdressers, nurses and other hospital personnel. Thesegarments are periodically laundered by washing them in a heated washwater including a detergent wherein the temperature of the water issufiiciently high to remove dirt and stains. Because of the nature ofthe fabric, the elevated temperature of the wash water and the agitationof the garment in the Washing machine cause the garments to wrinkle.Consequently, after the garments have been washed and dried, they mustbe pressed or further treated in some manner in order to remove thewrinkles. A pressing operation is undesirable since each garment must behandled individually and accordingly the time and cost of launderingsuch garments is greatly increased. Further, even when great care isused in the ironing process, it is difiicult to iron the garments in amanner to remove all wrinkles therefrom.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an improvedprocess and apparatus for the wrinklefree drying and finishing of suchgarments and fabric articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus and methodfor the wrinkle-free drying and finishing of dripping wet launderedgarments by the application of steam and heated air to the garment so asto obtain high quality in the most economical manner.

In one aspect of the invention, the apparatus may comprise a closedchamber having a removable rack therein upon which a plurality ofgarments may be suspended. Heated air is directed upwardly against thegarments from a longitudinal slot in the floor of the chamber.Converging streams of steam are directed upwardly against the suspendedgarments from the bottom which may be from two loops of tubing having aseries of spaced openings therein. The floor of the chamber does nothave a drain therein so that it may function as an evaporator pan andthe water evaporated therein is cir- 3,475,828 Patented Nov. 4, 1969"ice culated throughout the chamber as vapor or steam. Means areprovided on the chamber for recirculating a major portion of thecombined steam and heated air back through the chamber.

In drying and finishing garments according to the present invention, aplurality of dripping wet garments are suspended within the closedchamber. Streams or jets of steam are then directed upwardly against thegarments for about one minute. Next, for about four minutes, hot air isalso blown upwardly into the garments and the combined action of theheated air and steam causes an agitation or quivering movement of thegarments which greatly increases the effectiveness of the dryingprocess. The application of the steam is then stopped and for about 10to 12 minutes the heated air continues to blow upwardly through thearticles to finish the drying and conditioning of the garments. Upon thecompletion of this drying, the garments are then dry and smooth andready for wear without further treatment.

Other objects, advantages and features of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description and accompanying drawingswhich are merely exemplary.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the apparatus taken along the line 33 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the rack showing the garmentssuspended therefrom with the dotted lines indicating the positions takenby the garments under the combined action of the steam and heated air;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to that of FIG. 3 showing the effectof the steam and heated air upon the garments suspended therein; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2. andshowing the arrangement of the steam loops and air slot within thechamber.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference symbols indicate thesame parts throughout the various views, the specific embodiment of theinvention will be described in detail.

As may be seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, the apparatus is indicated generally at1 and comprises a closed chamber 2 which may be termed a hot box. Thechamber has a top 3, a bottom or floor 4, ends 5 and 6, and side walls 7and 8. The chamber may be a sheet metal box built around a structuralframework of right angles and channels and is mounted upon supports orfeet 9 so as to be raised slightly off the floor. The structure orenclosure can also take other structural forms.

The end 5 is provided with a door 10 to permit access to the interior ofthe chamber and a viewing window 11 so that garments can be viewedduring the finishing process. This may be in the form of a Pyrex glass.While not shown in the drawings, a vapor-tight light also may be mountedwithin the chamber to render the garments therein more visible.

The outer surface of the chamber may be covered with a suitableinsulating material, such as, for example, Celotex.

On the floor 4 of the chamber there are mounted two longitudinallyextending channels 12 which form guides or rails for the movable garmentrack indicated at 13. The garment rack has a framework and includes thehanger bar 14 from which garments such as 15 may be suspended. Formobility purposes, the rack is mounted upon rollers 16 which are spacedto be received within the rails 12. Other means may be employed formoving the garments into and out of the enclosure.

There is a longitudinally extending slot 17 in the floor of the chamberfrom which heated air is blown. The slot 17 is positioned substantiallyalong the center of the chamber and is located beneath the garments asmay be seen in FIGS. 3 and 5.

Mounted slightly above the floor of the chamber is an outer loop 18 andan inner loop 19 of tubing having a plurality of spaced openingstherein. The tubing may be of copper or any other suitable material. Theopenings on the inner loop are angled at about 45 degrees from thevertical so as to direct streams of steam therefrom in the direction Aas indicated in FIG. 5. As an example, when diameter tubing is used, theapertures may be every 8". The outer loop 18 may have openings angledalternately at 45 degrees and vertically as schematically shown in B andC in FIG. 2, these openings being every 4".

The top 3 of the chamber is provided with two square openings 20 and 21in a circular opening 22. The square openings are connected by intakeelbows 23 and 24 to one side of a steam coil box 25 having steam coils26 therein.

On the other or downstream side of steam coil box 25 there are connectedblowers 27 and 28 with the blower discharges connected to elbows 29 and30 which lead to a flat manifold 31 which extends down the rear wall 8and under the floor 4 of the chamber to connect to the air slot 17.

Round opening 22 is connected to a dampered stack 32 whose damper can beadjusted to bleed off and exhaust a controlled amount of the circulatinghot air and steam. About of the circulating hot air and steam can thusbe exhausted.

On the upstream side of the steam coil box 25 there is provided adampered duct 33 which brings in makeup air to replace the exhausted hotair and steam.

The blowers, steam and blower motor may be turned on and off manually bythe operator or may be connected to automatic controls so as to operateon a predetermined c cle.

The process as disclosed herein is essentially a batch process and iscommenced by rolling a rack loaded with garments into position into thechamber and closing the door. The garment rack can be easily rolledabout, and one man can readily lift one end of the loaded rack to insertthe rollers into the guide channels and then push the rack into thechamber.

As an example of operation, for about the first one minute of the cycle,steam at a temperature of 330 F. and about 120 psi. is blown upwardlyfrom the steam loops 18 and 19 into the garments in diverging 45-degreerows of steam from approximately 100 orifices or openin s.

During the next four-minute interval, the live steam continues to blowinto the garments but, in addition, heated air is blown upwardly intothe garments through slot 17. This air is heated to about 300 F. bybeing passed through steam coils 26. The air temperature may vary fromabout 296-302 F. as the cycle progresses. This air is recirculated,except for about 5% exhaust and replacement of fresh air. Merely by wayof example, the velocity of air in the heart of the slot 17 could be inthe range of 2200 feet per minute which, of course, fans out and slowsdown.

The combined action of the live steam and hot air blowing upwardly intothe suspended garments brings about an agitation and continuousquivering motion of the garments as compared to a mere billowing action.The steam, hot air and agitating of the garments all contribute toreturning the garments toward their initial pressed state.

During the third stage, which can last from to 12 minutes, the livesteam is turned otf but the heated air continues to recirculate upwardthrough the clothes to finish the drying of the garments.

At the completion of this third stage, the garments are then dry andsmooth and ready for wear.

The economy of this process is considerably enhanced by the floor of thechamber which has no drain. As a result, the floor acts as anevaporating pan. Thus, heat is utilized to evaporate the water and theresulting vapor re- 4 circulates in the system so that the heat isabsorbed and stays in the system instead of being lost down the drain.

The lips of the longitudinal slot 17 may be divergent so as to cause theair discharged therefrom to fan out and slow down before hitting theclothes in the event there is too much disturbance and whipping aroundof the garments under the combined action of the steam and heated arr.

It should be apparent that the present invention discloses an apparatusand process for the drying and finishing of fabric articles in theiroriginal wrinkle-free state. The combined action of the steam and heatedair assists the memory of the thermoplastic fibers within the fabric sothat the fibers are returned to their original unbent condition. It alsois possible to admit both steam and air at the beginning.

It is to be understood that various details of construction andarrangement of the parts can be changed without departing from thespirit of the invention, except defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A process of drying and finishing a wrinkled fabric article having atleast 65% polyester fibers and the remainder cotton fibers treated in anaqueous liquid comprising the steps of freely suspending the article ina closed chamber, blowing streams of steam upwardly and converginglyagainst the inside of the freely suspended article and concurrentlyblowing heated air upwardly therewith and into the suspended article sothat the combined actions of the steam and air cause billowing of thearticle in a shaking movement tending to stretch the fabric, andstopping the steam against the article and continuing blowing the hotair in the same manner to finish drying of the article whereby thearticle is dried and returned to a state where ironing is not required.

2. A process of drying and finishing a fabric article as claimed inclaim 1 wherein steam alone is first blown upwardly against the insideof the freely suspended article.

3. A process of drying and finishing a fabric article as claimed inclaim 2 wherein the streams of steam converge.

4. A process of drying and finishing a fabric article as claimed inclaim 3 wherein the streams of steam are at about degree angles.

5. A process of drying and finishing a fabric article as claimed inclaim 2 wherein the steam is blown for about one minute, the steam andhot air are blown for about four minutes and the hot air alone is blownfor about ten to twelve minutes.

6. In an apparatus for wrinkle-free drying and finishing a fabricarticle having at least 65% polyester fibers and the remainder cottonfibers treated in an aqueous liquid, the combination including a closedchamber having a bottom surface, means within said chamber for freelysuspending a fabric article therein spaced above said bottom surface,heating means associated with said chamber, an opening in said bottomsurface, duct means extending from said heating means to said opening,and blower means in said duct means for directing upwardly and into thefreely suspended article a stream of heated air, and means within saidchamber adjacent said bottom surface and said opening for directingupwardly into said freely suspended article converging streams of steam.

7. An apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the steam directing meanscomprises two spaced loops of tubing having spaced openings therein forsaid streams of steam.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said loops are rectangularwith an inner and outer loop.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the spaced openings in theinner loop direct the steam angularly outwardly and some of the openingsin the outer loop direct steam upwardly and some of the openings directsteam angularly inwardly.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the closed chamber has abottom surface in heat conducting relation with the heated air supply.

5 11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein the air directing meanscomprising a longitudinal slot in an imperforate bottom surface and theair input duct is connected to said slot and is in heat conductingrelation to said bottom surface so as to evaporate moisture therefrom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 Gayring 34-106 XR Lovelace223-70 XR Jackson 223-70 Erickson 34-216 Wentz 34-31 KENNETH W. SPRAGUE,Primary Examiner 3/1931 Milazo et a1 223-70 10 216 US. Cl. X.R.

f2 g UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3A75 828 at November 4. 1969 In e DeNeal J. Feldman. Jack J. Feldman.and Milton J.

Moscowitz It is certified that error appears in the above-identifiedpatent and e that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shownbelow:

In the heading, "to Economy Linen Sc Towel Service, Inc.,

Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio should be by mesne assignments, toAmetek, Inc., New York, N. Y., a. corporation of Delaware-.

SIGNED AND SEALED MAR 2 41970 (SEAL) Afloat:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

I WILLIAM E. EQHUYLER, JR.

Attoatmg Officer Commissioner of Patent!

